English Literature, History, Children’s Books, Illustrations and Photographs

Notes
This catalogue includes several Tolkien-related lots, the most notable being:

379 (p.232) - This lot consists of twelve letters from Tolkien to Dorothy "Ding" Wood, dating from 1960 to 1973. The lot description includes extracts from many of the letters covering subjects such as the Queen ("I am one of her devoted subjects and greatly admire her, though her voice is not one of her graces"), wealth, the consequences of fame, handwriting, The Silmarillion, the Tolkien name and Lord Snowdon ("...a very thin almost 'elvish' figure... we had much in common - especially a devotion to trees"). The lot also includes letters from Edith and Priscilla Tolkien. The letters are not included in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (1981).

381 (p.234) - A proof copy of The Fellowship of the Ring dating from 1953. The lot description quotes an earlier version of the Ring verse ("...and in the shadow bind them") and goes on to record a number of differences between the proof copy and the published book. This is one of the 35[?] sets of page proofs printed in September 1953 - see the articles section for further information. The title page is reproduced in a photograph.